The New York Times: At the start of rehearsals for the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof” last fall, it quickly became clear that the three actresses playing Tevye’s eldest daughters were inseparable. Observing them huddled together in a corner in their black rehearsal clothes, the musical’s director, Bartlett Sher, labeled them “the coven.”
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It's great that these three women were able to find such strong friendships in an industry that can be harsh and competitive. I'm curious as to what makes or breaks a friendship like this that was born out of having to be with one another for a long time. In my experience, most of these friendships either end in frustration and growing apart or eventually becoming close after minimal conflict. Maybe the intense environment of a live performance enabled them to become closer faster because of the high stress and long hours associated with it. It must be so relieving to know that someone in the show has your back at all times, and a friendship like that cannot be easily broken. It's also a testament to the message of the show that strong friendships among women are powerful and withstand many obstacles. While it's often the case that people you're forced to spend time with grow on your nerves and end up becoming more acquaintances that friends, it's nice to know that some people are able to build lasting friendships in the workplace that help both their performance and themselves.
It's odd, because we talk so much about the metaphorical family theatre gives us that we often forget the more literal one it does. I know I'm extremely guilty of this. Now, the more I think of it, it makes sense that I feel strange referring to my old high school theatre companions as "my friend" because they're so much more than that. Even after just one semester at CMU, I feel that I mean something very different when I call someone I know outside of 33 a friend than when I refer to a fellow DP. The relationships we develop because of this business, the one's that come from laughing and crying together at all hours of the day, from holding each other's hands through good and bad, from doing dumb things for smart reasons and smart things for dumb reasons all while the people we love look on - those are invaluable. I always thought in high school that my theatre department was the second family I actually got to choose. Looking back, I think they might be the second family I didn't get to choose, because they were quite literally destined to be in my life. Whether that is actually the case or I'm just a raving sentimentalist, I have no idea. But I know the literal sisterhood of the women in these productions isn't something that just happens. It has to happen, in order to make art, to tell a story, to get us through. And I could not be more grateful for what my family does for my art. Biologically, metaphorically, and otherwise.
First of all, it is so encouraging to hear these stories of women supporting each other so closely in our business. They are defying the stereotype of cat fighting divas who will tear each other down to get to the top and I couldn’t be more proud. Our industry not only needs more strong women; it needs more strong women who support other strong women. Secondly, I think that there is a very interesting cycle in actors lives between their onstage and offstage relationships. They feed each other, or they can ring false. As Julie Andrews once said “You always fall in little bit in love with your leading man,” and while it would be absurd to fall head over heels with every man you got cast opposite, it’s true that you need to feel some kind of connection and chemistry to make the love onstage believable. The same is true for sisters as well as lovers. These stories are made even more powerful by the real life bond of the women telling them, because an audience can feel the truth and the warmth behind their onstage relationship.
Going off of Helena's comment, I'm so glad to see that some publicity brought to a trio of incredibly talented women who obviously love each other and are involved in the active support of each other in the often cruel and subtly (or blatantly) misogynistic environment that is Broadway. Too often are high-achieving women in close proximity labeled as catty or bitchy, or portrayed as unreasonable, argumentative divas, with sharpened gel manicures itching to type out another venemous text message to that young upstart intern, who had the sheer gall to wear an above-the knee skirt in a color other than the unspoken, yet mandated, blue, black, or grey. I, as a relatively high-achieving woman (I don't know yet what my game will be, but I do know that I want to be situated firmly at the top of it) get very bored, and a tad offended at these tropes, and sincerely wish that someone would come out with a gofundme to put a disclaimer on Meryl Streep's "Devil Wears Prada" role, because that's not how it works, dammit. Anyhow, I've had my rant, and now I'm going to go off and be a kind, supportive, female member of a highly respected professional training program, to show the world how it's actually done. Thank you, Melanie, Samantha, and Alexandra.
Female friendship and sisterhood aren't very different at their core. I have both a sister and a best friend and what I've learned for managing both relationships is that while they are equally important a the only difference between good friendship and sisterhood is that you share parents with one of them. I recently read an article unrelated to theater that said in a poll most women described their favorite thing about being a woman as the relationships they have with other women. I think that that really applies to this article. In fact I was talking with some of my female friends last week about how important it is to have a start group of women around you all the time, to keep you humble and driven, especially in the theater, and in a field that is primarily led by men. Part of what makes theater so enjoyable for the people involved in it are the bonds that you share with those you are working with. If there is anything that I have learned about friendship in the theater is that it is very fast, very intense, and unlike anything else. It seems to me that the three sisters in fiddler have this, and while I'm sure it has helped them in their performance, I can pretty much guarantee that it has made them better people, and that they will leave the show having found two new wonderful friends, that regardless of bloodline they now think of as sisters.
I feel like much of what is sought in performance today - both on stage theatrical, as well as on screen - is authenticity, which can often seem somewhat like an oxymoron. It is very nice to hear about a genuine support network existing behind the one the is supposed to exist onstage in so many popular shows. I feel like this world of performance has the potential to result in a great deal of isolation, and misunderstanding. The pool of people who can truly empathize with these performers is very limited.
I was slightly disappointed to hear that some of the Fiddler on the Roof crew had placed bets on how long it would take for the women performing in the roles of the sisters to grow tired of each other. This was a weirdly predatory move, and works directly against the values and support system that is so key to the authenticity of the performers on stage.
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